Honors Ensembles, Prep Concerto Competition Winners Announced
Laurel Quartet (Susan Wilson photo)
Six Honors Ensembles —two string quartets, a brass quintet, piano quintet, and jazz and Wild Card groups—have been chosen for the 2007-08 academic year. Selected by an outside panel of jurors (in the case of classical chamber music groups) or by NEC faculty (in the case of the jazz/wild card groups), honors ensembles are chosen on the basis of extraordinary accomplishment and a commitment to work together. The groups will perform together for the remainder of the year, during which time they receive special mentoring and the guarantee of a Jordan Hall recital. Through NEC’s Performance Outreach Program, they also give three performances off campus and receive training in shaping programs for and speaking to specialized audiences.
Although many Honors Ensembles only stay together through the duration of their school years, others find or confirm a vocation through the program. The program can be the springboard for a group to become a permanent, professional ensemble—as was the case with both the Jupiter Quartet and the Parker Quartet.
This year’s ensembles are:
Laurel Quartet —Annie Rabbat, Ying Xue, violins; Sarah Darling, viola; Song-Ie Do, cello
S4 —Ben Thacher, Rita Wang, violins; Paul Laraia, viola;Michael Katz, cello
Artus Quintet —Joe Klause, Najib Wong, trumpets; Jessica Lascoe, horn; Ross Holcombe, trombone; Wei Wang, bass trombone. Jordan Hall concert: May 11, 2008
Piano Quintet —Isabelle Engels, David McCarroll, violins; Margaret Dyer, viola; Blaise Dejardin, cello; Andrei Baumann, piano
Jazz —Noah Preminger, tenor sax; Andrew Matos, guitar; Will Slater, bass; Mike Gleichman, drums. Coach: Frank Carlberg. Jordan Hall concert: April 14, 2008
Wild Card —Aaron Kruziki, sax; Kristin Slipp, voice; Marissa Licata, violin; Catherine Bent, cello; Dominik Wania, piano. Coach: Anthony Coleman. Jordan Hall concert: April 14, 2008.
Angela Myles Beeching, director of NEC’s Career Services Center, recently had two articles published in Classical Singer magazine: "Four Tips to Jumpstart Your Career," and "Getting the Lowdown on Your Higher Education Investment." She spoke at the College Music Society conference in Salt Lake City last month, and will appear at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, December 7. In January in NYC, she co-hosts the Network of Music Career Development Officers annual conference, offers individual career advising appointments at the Chamber Music America conference, and facilitates the Young Performers Career Advancement seminar for the Association of Performing Arts Presenters.
Only two weeks after NEC hosted the Símon Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela on November 7--9, clarinetist/conductor/chamber music coach Jonathan Cohler of the Preparatory School faculty was heading to Caracas for his fifth visit in six years. During his 10 days in Venezuela, Cohler taught, conducted, and played in his capacity as visiting professor of the Universidad Símon Bolívar Music department’s new Masters Degree program in clarinet performance.
To his conducting gigs with the Youth Orchestra, he added the Símon Bolívar Symphonic Band, leading programs that included a song medley from Bernstein’s West Side Story, plus Rossini’s William Tell Overture, Arutunian’s Trumpet Concerto, Respighi’s Pines of Rome, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Clarinet Concerto, and the Finale of Shostakovich Symphony No. 5.
Three NEC Preparatory students have been selected to perform solo concerti with Prep orchestras as the result of winning the annual Concerto Competitions. They are:
Yuki Beppu, violin, in the 12 year old and under category. She will perform the Wieniawski Violin Concerto No. 2 with the Youth Repertory Orchestra May 31.
Jonah Park Ellsworth, cello, in the 13—15 year old category. He will play the Elgar Cello Concerto with the Youth Symphony, June 6.
Tavi Ungerleider, cello, in the 16-year old through high school category. He will perform the Schumann Cello Concerto with the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, May 30.
Frank Epstein, Chair of Brass and Percussion and cymbalist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, has just published Cymbalisms: A Complete Guide for the Orchestral Cymbal Player. The 106-page book and CD package published by Hal Leonard discusses the concepts of sound, musicianship, precision, articulation, color, balance, and response as they relate to some of the greatest works in the orchestral repertory. Epstein offers many personally developed and formulated strokes to help players develop a good sound. The two CDs feature over 100 excerpts from orchestral literature performed by the BSO.